LOCATING DEVICE

Abstract: There is provided a clip-form device (1) to facilitate the location of a brick slip (2) on a penetrable layer (L) on a wall, the brick slip (2) essentially comprising a slice of a full size parent brick. The device (1) has clamp means (4, 5) to enable the device (1) to be fitted on a brick slip (2) and spikes (6) to penetrate the said layer (L) for positioning of the device (and the brick slip). The device (1) further includes means e.g. apertures (7) to facilitate adhesive bonding between the brick slip (2) and the surface layer (L). Previously, the surface layer (L) has included parallel locating ribs to hold the brick slips (2) but this has restricted the way the slips can ve positioned: this disadvantage is avoided by the present device (1) which does not require a ribbed penetrable layer (L).

Description: "LOCATING DEVICE" The present invention relates to a locating device to facilitate location of a facing element, especially a brick slip, on a penetrable layer or substrate of a wall formation, the penetrable layer or substrate beneficially comprising an insulating layer. Brick slips are used to provide a wall facing giving an effective brick appearance, and comprise a thin brick slice formed for example by cutting off the face of a full brick (the mother brick) before firing The slip, essentially defining a brick "tile", is therefore a thin slice of brick consisting of the decorative and weathering surface of the "mother" brick, the slip being fired conventially to produce a hard durable material. Brick slips are widely made (by most manufacturers) to appropriate standards, e.g. British Standards (B.S.), and are adhered to a substrate of a wall formation using special adhesive. For energy saving and building improvement, external wall insulation is utilised in buildings specifically by applying a variety of suitable insulants (mainly expanded polystyrene and mineral fibre sheeting) to the outside wall surface of a building wall. The insulation can be protected by a cementituous render or other protective/decorative material e.g. dry-dash or textured coloured finish, but a more effective finish is achieved by using the above brick slips to replicate a conventional brickwork finish. A number of systems are available which combine a brick appearance with an insulation substrate but they are of limited use because of an unacceptable appearance or an inability to cope with normal hazards such as fire. Brick slips cannot of course be located simply by mounting slip rows one above the other as in conventional brickwork, and consequently special panels (insulation) have been produced with profiled surfaces in sizable sheets which serve to locate and hold the brick slips until the bonding adhesive has set; such a panel is shown in GB-A-2199352A. There is the disadvantage however, that the system cannot accommodate dimensional discrepancies and misalignment which occur in most buildings. Conventional brickwork, which this prior system intended to replicate, can cope with these problems by adjusting the spaces between bricks horizontally and vertically, to "expand or shrink" dimensionally as required. It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a locating device for use with proprietary brick slips to enable the slips to be applied to an insulant substrate while providing freedom to place the slips on the surface where desired without dimensional restriction. According to the present invention there is provided a device for locating a wall facing element especially a brick slip on a penetrable layer of a building wall, said device comprising a main body, means for locating said main body on a back surface of a wall facing element, and piercing means extending from said main body to implant in a penetrable layer for location of the facing element on the layer. Said penetrable layer beneficially comprises an insulating layer. Preferably the piercing means comprise spikes. Preferably the locating means comprise clamping meanss adapted for clamping on opposed edge surfaces of the facing element, and said clamping means preferably comprise a flange at one edge of the main body and a flexible tongue towards an opposed edge of said main body. A suitable array of spikes can be provided, for example arranged in a triangular formation. The main body is preferably of open-work form thereby facilitating adhesive keying between the facing element and the penetrable layer. Further, a body portion may extend outwardly of said clamping.means and include apertures for the fitting of additional fastening elements to the building wall. The locating device may be of metal or synthetic plastics material. According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a facing element, especially a brick slip, for location on a penetrable layer, for example an insulating layer of a building wall, said facing element including a device to facilitate location of the element on a penetrable layer, said device comprising piercing means extending from a back surface of the facing element to implant in said penetrable layer. According to yet a further aspect of the present invention a method of facing a wall formation comprises providing a penetrable substrate sheet on the wall formation, applying adhesive to the sheet or to facing elements and implanting said facing elements in the substrate sheet by means of piercing devices on the facing elements to locate the facing elements on the sheet so that the facing elements are adhered to said substrate sheet by the adhesive. An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: - Figs 1 to 4 show respectively a front elevation, back elevation, a top view and a bottom view of a clip device for locating a brick slip on a penetrable insulating layer of a building wall; Fig. 5 shows a side view of the device as applied to an insulating layer; and Fig. 6 shows a front view of brick slips applied to an insulating layer of a building wall. .Referring to Figs. 1 to 5, a clip device 1 is provided for locating a brick slip 2 on an insulating layer L of a building wall, the insulating layer being formed of a penetrable material, such as expanded polystyrene or a mineral fibre layer. The,-device 1 comprises a main body 3 adapted to rest against the back surface 2B of the brick slip 2, clamping means 4, 5 on the body 3 to secure the device 1 to the brick slip 2 and piercing means in the form of spikes 6 to implant into the insulating layer L. The clamping means comprise a support flange 4 at the bottom of the main body 3 and a flexible tongue 5 towards the top of the body 3, the spacing of the flange 4 and tongue 5 permitting a predetermined size range of brick slip 2 to be placed against the body 3 while being securely clamped by the clamping means 4, 5. In this example, three spikes 6 are employed and arranged in triangular configuration, the spikes 6 having a T-cross section for strength, while the upper spike 6 at the triangle apex is longer than the spikes 6 at the triangle base to facilitate accurate placement of a brick slip 2 on the insulating layer L. The main body 3 has a substantial spread to ensure that a brick slip is brought square onto the layer L, but is of openwork form by virtue of substantial apertures 7 to encourage satisfactory adhesive keying between the brick slip 2 and the layer (substrate) L. A portion of the body 3 above the tongue 5 can include holes 8 to allow additional mechanical attachment pins for example to be inserted if these are required by particular circumstances. The clip devices 1 can be made relatively inexpensively from suitable metal or plastics so that even although the devices 1 are located permanently, i.e. "lost" on formation of the wall facing using the brick slips 2 there need not be an excessive increase in cost, and in any event any cost increase can be off-set by the use of a simpler and cheaper insulating layer L and additionally there is the sizable benefit of greater flexibility in application of the brick slips to the layer L. The main body 3 can be sufficiently thin so as to be size compatible with the adhesive layer thickness between the brick slip 2 and the layer L. The clip device 1 can be fitted easily to a brick slip 2 by applying the slip at an angle to the device 1 (as shown dashed in Fig. 5) , then imparting a force between the slip and the tongue 5 to deflect the tongue, whereupon the device 1 can snap onto the slip and into the working position shown in Fig. 5, with the device l then clamped on the brick slip. By means of the device 1, the brick 2 can be positioned in any desired way on the insulating layer L prior to setting of adhesive between the layer L and the brick slip 2. For the formation of a conventional wall pattern, a horizontal starter line S (Fig. 6) can be drawn on the layer L and, with adhesive applied appropriately to the later L, the first row of brick slips 2 including the fitted clips device 1 is positioned relative to the line S, firstly partially implanting the top longer spike 6 then, when satisfied with the positioning driving all the spikes 6 fully into the layer L to locate the brick slip. The following rows of brick slips can then be completed similarly using the preceding lower row as a guide. Significantly however, the present invention allows a shift in the positioning of brick slips to cater for discrepencies in the general wall formation, or alternatively permit varying facing brick patterns to satify particular archetectural requirements for example as shown by brick slips 2A in Fig. 6. Pointing P can be applied in the usual way using a selected mortar. The clip device according to the present invention provides the following advantages: - 1. The device allows standard brick slips to be used from the ranges of a number of manufacturers. The choice of colour and texture within controlled dimensional tolerances is therefore extensive. 2. The device accommodates the need for brick slip applications to be as capable as conventional facing brickwork in coping with dimensional discrepancies and mis¬ alignment. 3. The device makes it possible to install brick slips to insulant backgrounds without the need for special preformed insulated boards which restrict dimensional flexibility. 4. The device allows a choice of insulants to be used to meet specific requirements. 5. The device, when used in conjunction with a non-fire reactive insulant such as lamella mineral fibre, allows brick slips to be installed where non-combustibility and fire resistance are important such as in multi-storey work. While the above clip device 1 in accordance with the present invention is described for use with a brick slip, it will be appreciated that the device 1 could be use d or adapted for use with other forms of facing elements.

Claims: CLAIMS. 1. A device for locating a wall facing element (2) especially a brick slip on a penetrable layer (L) of a building wall, characterised in that said device comprises a main body (3) , means (4 & 5) for locating said main body (3) on a back surface of a wall facing element (2) , and piercing means (6) extending from said main body (3) to implant in a penetrable layer (L) for location of the facing element (2) on the layer (L) . 2. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the piercing means (6) comprise spikes. 3. A device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the locating means (4, 5) comprise clamping means adapted for clamping on opposed edge surfaces of the facing element (2) . 4. A device as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that said clamping means (4, 5) comprise a flange (4) at one edge of the main body (3) and a flexible tongue (5) towards an opposed edge of said main body (3) . 5. A device as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that a geometric array of spikes (6) is present, for example arranged in triangular configuration. 6. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the main body (3) is of open¬ work form thereby facilitating adhesive keying between the facing element (2) and the penetrable layer (L) . 7. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a portion of the main body (3) includes apertures (8) for the fitting of additional fastening elements to the building wall. 8. A device as claimed in claim 7, characterised in that said apertures (8) are located on a body portion positioned between a locating member .(5) and an adjacent outer edge of the main body (3) . 9. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the device (1) is made of metal. 10. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the device (1) is made of plastics material. 11. A device as claimed in claim 9, characterised in that the device (1) comprises a metal stamping. 12. A devicemas claimed in claim 10, charaterised in that the device (1) comprises a moulding. 13. A facing element, especially a brick slip (2) for location on a penetrable layer (L) , for examole an insulating layer of a building wall, characterised in that said facing element (2) includes a device (1) to facilitate location of the elements (2) on a pentrable layer, said device (1) comprising piercing means (6) extending from a back surface of the facing element (2) to implant in said penetrable layer (L) . 14. A method of facing a wall formation characterised by providing a penetrable substrate sheet (L) on the wall formation applying adhesive to the sheet (L) or to facing elements (2) and implanting said facing elements (2) in the substrate sheet (L) by means of piercing devices (1) on the facing elements (2) to locate the facing elements (2) on the sheet (L) so that the facing elements (2) are adhered to said substrate sheet (L) by the adhesive.

Inventors: BUNTAIN CHRIS, BUNTAIN, CHRIS
Applicants: BUNTAIN CHRIS, STONE EGLINTON GROUP LTD, BUNTAIN, CHRIS, EGLINTON STONE GROUP LIMITED
Application year: 1994
Main classification: E04F13
IPC codes: E04F13, E04F21